Obsolete Methods

The short answer is “there are none.” The Evacuator is one-of-a-kind, and should not be compared to other methods, because its function is truly unique and different from anything on the market.

However, most other methods of dealing with air quality issues are based on the assumption that chloramine production can be prevented. We have seen hundreds of facilities that use both conventional and unconventional methods to try and thwart the production of chloramines…and none of them work. These methods include switching chemicals, shocking the pool, depleting chlorine levels, opening doors, covering the pool at night, adding UV/Ozone and installing activated charcoal filters or sphagnum moss.

But, at the end of the day, chloramines have to happen. It’s just basic chemistry, and it’s unavoidable.

Why not open outside doors?

Until the Evacuator (and even today), the common answer to poor indoor air quality was “solution by dilution”…in other words, introduce more outside air. The most common form is opening outside doors to allow fresh air in. Unfortunately, this only dilutes–the chloramines are still there, and they are still harmful. “Solution by dilution” has never worked effectively, and we believe it never will. Outside air is also very expensive to condition, so introducing excess air means excess energy costs. Opening doors puts a tremendous amount of stress on your air handling system, and it can have long-term affects on the life of the equipment.

What about UV and Ozone?

Most questions we get are about Ultraviolet (UV) and Ozone sanitation. We love them. UV/Ozone are great at what they do: neutralizing waterborne pathogens and chloramines. If they had the chance to kill trichloramines before they off-gassed, they would. The problem, however, is timing; UV/Ozone are point-of-contact solutions that water flows through every four to six hours. Trichloramines, on the other hand, can off-gas in seconds…too fast for UV/Ozone to handle. Their purpose is water quality, not air quality. In fact, almost all of our customers have had UV or Ozone for years. Yet their air quality was still a problem when they called us.

How about increased air circulation?

This is similar to solution by dilution, except with the air already in the building. We can confidently tell you that in our experience, it can make people feel better, but it can make the problem worse. Circulating chloramines with big fans or increased turnover rates compounds the chloramine problem, and can also affect the evaporation rate of the pool. Like opening doors, this stresses your air handling system in ways it was not designed for, and can lead to huge replacement costs down the road. Most importantly, it does not solve the problem.